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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Thinking about Adoption?

I came across an article posted on the 22 January 2013 by the Department for Child Protection, titled 'Thinking about Adoption?'

What caught my attention more than anything else was the sub-title 'Find out what it means to be an adoptive parent...'
What I find bewilding about this title, is how can an organisation claim to tell anyone what it is like to be an adoptive parent unless of course they are one themselves?
The article explains to the reader how adoption is 'a service' and how it effects parental rights, privelages and inheritance. A service? I'm baffled with this suggestion.

The article then goes on the describe the following:'The undesirable consequences of past adoption practices, which were shrouded in secrecy, have led to changes in adoption law both nationally and internationally. West Australian legislation endorses 'open adoption' which recognises a child's birth parentage and cultural origins and promotes contact between the parties to adoption is encouraged where this is possible and appropriate.'

Ok, so most would agree we know 'open adoption' arrangements are better than keeping a child's true identity tucked away in the corner of the closet, but unless you are an adoptive parent who has a child in an 'open adoption' arrangement, you wouldn't be aware of the what psychological issues this also can impact on that child's life and the adoptive parents/family unit.

The agencies and departments tell us it's best to tell your adoptive child of their adoption from a young age; this enables them to grow up with the idea and realise their true identity - or does it?
And what happens when a child is adopted in an 'open adoption' arrangement, yet they don't have physical contact with their birth parents? Is that classed as 'open', and does that allow for true identity?'

What happens when an adoptive child at the age of six or seven knows they are adopted, yet has never met their birth parents because the 'open adoption' arrangement only allows for the adoptive parents to send yearly up-dates on the childs progress and the adoptive family gets nothing in return to share with the adoptive child?

While adoption legislation 'endorses' open adoption practice, it does not consider the effects of those who fall within it's legal boundaries that can't get access to the so called promotion of birth parentage information, because of the one-way street system put in place.

If our country is serious about not repeating history with the shrouding of secrecy on its adoption practices, then there needs to be a more clear and defined legislation put in place that means all three parties of the adoption triangle under the 'open adoption' arrangement can on a regular basis obtain information that allows all parties to stay in touch in some manner.

Everyone is insistent on saying adoption is about the child and their rights, and not the adoptive parents; but from my experience adoption is least about the child and their rights and all about the birth parents and their rights.

Something has to change before we have a new generation of adoptee's who suffer some type of psychological disorder from these under developed practices.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

The inspiration behind starting this blog was firstly how adoption plays such a large and significant part in my life as both an adoptee and adoptive parent.

As you will notice my blog has a number of specific pages across the top in order to access information I believe may serve towards the much needed understanding on adoption issues here in Australia.

My newly released ebook PDF version has been a work in progress over many, many years covering areas such as local Australian Adoption, relinquishment and search. My ideas have changed since the first draft and I hope the finished product will serve its intended audiences. I intend in the very near future to make this publication available as an ebook for all readable ebook devices.

About Me

Meredith Grant is an emerging Regional Victorian writer. She has been shortlisted for the Trudy Graham-Julie Lewis Lit. Awards for Prose, runner-up for the FAW Qld. Soapbox Article competition and most recently been awarded runner-up in the Writers Victoria Regional Members Writing Competition. She has also contributed to on-line Journals and had articles and personal memoirs published on-line. She studied Professional Writing and Editing at Ballarat University and has a strong focus on writing non-fiction.

Her focus is to become a freelance writer where her contributions will cover her experience and knowledge on topics that sit close to her heart, including Australia's homeless epidemic, teenage depression and Australian adoption matters.

She is currently working on her full length memoir she hopes to have published; in the mean time her short memoir works are being submitted to various opportunities and competitions which she hopes will help raise her writing profile.